A Time to Give Thanks
by Sir Fenith
Summary: The following day is Pikachu's last in the Sinnoh Region. That would be all right for Buneary if she were coming with him...but she's not. And she still hasn't confessed her feelings to him. What will she do? THIS STORY IS PROBABLY DEAD
1. Memories

_**Chapter I - Memories**_

A small rabbit Pokémon sat alone in the middle of a flower patch. The sun was shining brightly. The Starly and Staravia were chirping merrily. But there was a gloomy expression on the bunny's face.

Sighing, she plucked a flower near her. _I wish I had the courage to tell him,_ Buneary thought disconsolately. She had tried to get Pikachu to figure out she liked him without actually confessing to him. She had nuzzled him, complimented him, hugged him...but all seemingly in vain. Her crush was as dense as ever.

Several happy memories of him and her together popped up in her mind. Especially one in particular...

* * *

_Several months before..._

_It was nighttime, and everyone was asleep. Everyone, that is, except for Buneary. She'd had a nightmare, and was currently outside her Pokéball, crying. (Not loud enough to wake anyone up, of course.) She wished someone would console her...hug her...tell her everything was okay._

_After a few moments, she had an idea. Maybe if she went for a walk, she'd feel better._

_Without further ado, the rabbit Pokémon left the tent. Outside it was refreshingly cool. The starry sky was cloudless, and the crescent moon illuminated her surroundings. She took a deep breath. The night air did help a little._

_She closed the tent flap and stared upward. _What's such a nice night without someone to share it with?_ she thought to herself, sighing. She knew exactly whom she would like to spend this night with._

_"What's wrong, Buneary?" a concerned voice asked from behind her._

_She almost squealed in delight. It was Pikachu! Arceus was certainly watching out for her!_

_"Pika!" she whispered, turning around and trying to conceal her happiness. "I should ask the same of you!"_

_"Well, I woke up, but couldn't fall back asleep. So, I figured it would be nice to go on a midnight stroll. But I wish you would just call me 'Pikachu,'" he added._

_"But an attractive mouse like you needs a cute nickname, too!" Buneary insisted, and took his paws in hers._

_He blushed, disconnecting their joined paws. "Anyway, since I told you why I was out, how about you?"_

_"I had a nightmare," she responded simply._

_"I see." Pikachu put one paw on her shoulder, his other paw reaching for her waist fluff. "Do you want me to help you with that?" he asked._

_Wait, what? Stepping away, she brought her fluff to her face and blushed into it. They weren't even a couple yet, and he was already suggesting that? "A-are you proposing that we...m-make love?" she stuttered incredulously._

_"N-no, of course not!" he replied, becoming redder than before. "Why would you think a thing like that?"_

Because I love you, and sometimes wish we will be that intimate someday,_ she answered silently. Aloud, she lied, "Umm...I was...just kidding. So...do you wanna walk with me?"_

_"Sure...if you don't mind, that is," he answered, the redness in his face fading._

_Mind? It was a dream come true! "'course not," she replied nonchalantly, lowering her fluff. After that embarrassing scene, she thought she was doing a pretty good job keeping it cool. Though she was bubbling with excitement inside._

_The two began their walk. As they went, Buneary's mind began to wander. It'd be nice if they could do this every night. Maybe if she were a bit more forward..._

_A horridly loud squawk came from behind her, interrupting her thoughts. "Help me, Pika!" she squealed, clinging onto Pikachu. She closed her eyes. It's going to eat her and Pika and—_

_"Don't worry, Buneary. It's just a Murkrow," she heard him say, gently pushing her away._

_"It...is?" She opened her eyes. Pikachu was right, like always._

_The Murkrow (definitely an ugly bird) was staring at her like she was crazy. "Keep your girlfriend quiet! Only we Murkrow are allowed to be loud at night!" he screeched, and promptly flew away._

_She glared at the retreating figure. Yeesh...he didn't have to be so noisy...and rude..._

_Pikachu stared at the spot where the bird Pokémon had been. "G-girlfriend...?" he muttered, flushing a little._

_"Pika?" Buneary whispered, taking a step away from him to give him some space._

_"Yes, Buneary?" He looked at her. She could've sworn there was affection in his eyes._

_Putting aside the thought (for now), she asked, "Do you like me?"_

_Pika laughed. "Of course I like you!"_

_He obviously misunderstood her. "No...I mean...like-like. Maybe...love?"_

_The mouse instantly fell silent. Every moment, her heart seemed to break a little. _He's not answering because he doesn't like me. For Arceus's sake, please don't say you don't...

_"I...I don't know..." he finally said._

_It felt as if a weight was taken off the rabbit's back. Praise Arceus! There was still hope!_

_"What I mean is," Pikachu continued, "I guess I never really gave it much thought. I've never experienced love in that sense, so I don't know what it feels like."_

_"Do you think...you can tell me how you feel after you've thought about it?" Buneary asked hopefully._

_He nodded. "I...I will."_

_"Promise?"_

_"Promise."_

* * *

Buneary sighed.

_I don't have much time left. He leaves tomorrow, and I don't know when—or if—I'll see him again. I can't wait for him to tell me how he feels; I've been waiting for an answer for months._

She ruminated about the very serious issue at paw. Then she finally decided what to do about it.

Nodding, she jumped to her feet._ I hope this plan works. If it does, Pikachu and I will finally be a couple!_

* * *

**Words:** 923

**Published:** Nov. 27, 2019


	2. Confessions

_**Chapter II – Confessions**_

Buneary hopped back to Dawn's place in Twinleaf Town, where they were staying. Outside, Pikachu and the some of the other Pokémon were playing tag.

"Pika..." Buneary cooed, getting her crush's attention, just like she planned.

"Is there something you need, Buneary?" Pikachu asked while chasing after Pachirisu.

"Mm-hmm," she purred.

"Okay, I'll help you as soon as I'm done with this game," he promised.

She nodded, trying to act cheerful, but inside, she sulked. _This isn't working. I need some way to get his attention right now, _she thought. _But how can I do that?_ Then she had a fabulous idea.

Bouncing into her trainer's house, she beelined for the kitchen. Inside, Dawn was making something. Arceus knew what that something was.

"Hey, Buneary!" the girl said amiably. "What do you need?"

"I need ketchup!" Buneary demanded, throwing her arms into the air.

"Oh, you want one of my homemade poffins, don't you?" Dawn asked, offering her one.

Buneary shook her head and pushed the poffin away.

"No, I don't want that. I want ketchup!" she insisted. As delicious as the poffin looked, she didn't have time for that now.

"If you don't want a poffin, then what _do _you want?" Dawn asked. Buneary facepalmed. Oh, yeah. Humans don't understand Pokéspeak. She'd have to settle with gestures, then.

She moved to the refrigerator and pointed at it.

"You want something from inside the fridge?" Dawn inquired.

Buneary nodded enthusiastically, and the coordinator opened the fridge.

"Okay, Buneary, what—" But she didn't have time to finish her sentence, as the moment the rabbit Pokémon saw a half-full ketchup bottle on the top shelf in the door, she bounded for it, and was off in a flash, leaving a very confused girl behind.

Armed with Pikachu's favorite condiment, Buneary returned to her (hopefully) soon-to-be boyfriend.

"Hey, Pika," she chirped, and held out the bottle of ketchup. "Wanna take a break an' have some ketchup with me?"

Pikachu's ears perked when he heard "ketchup." He stopped and gathered everyone together.

"I've been playing for a while, so I'm going to take a break," he announced, much to Buneary's satisfaction. "But I'll be back as soon as I'm all rested up!"

The others stated their approval and Pikachu moved to the ecstatic bunny.

_I won't act bashful,_ she told herself as the love of her life approached her. _I won't blush, I won't say silly things. I'll be calm and forward—_

"Hey, Buneary. What's up?"

She yelped, her face heating up. _He's standing right by me! Arceus, what do I do?_

"I-I...g-got this...for you," she stammered, clumsily holding out the ketchup.

He smiled warmly, taking it. "Thanks! How 'bout we sit down and share it someplace?" he suggested.

Buneary beamed. "Y-yeah!" She held her fluff to her face and giggled into it. Without even knowing it, he was following along with her plan.

Pikachu looked at her oddly. "Did I say something funny?"

Forgetting her timidity, she grabbed his paw. "Nope!" she said, and dragged him away from the town.

"W-where are we going?" he asked a bit nervously.

"You'll see," she replied, her blush still far, the rabbit's scheme to get Pikachu and herself together was proceeding, for the most part, as expected.

Soon Buneary arrived at her destination: the field of flowers, the same field in which she had conceived her plan not more than thirty minutes ago.

"Here we are," she declared, springing to the middle of it. "Isn't it beautiful?"

The expression on Pika's face was one of wonder. "You're right," he murmured. "You _are_ beautiful."

Buneary stared at him. Did he just tell her that she was beautiful? "What did you say?" she asked, hopping toward him.

"Oh! I-I just said that it's beautiful! It's...beautiful..." He gazed at her for a moment, finishing his sentence in an absentminded tone.

She felt kind of awkward with his eyes on her, so she decided on proceeding with her plan.

"I knew you would like it, Pika!" she said, throwing her arms around him.

Pikachu blushed, well aware about how close they were. "Well, Buneary, how about we—"

"—kiss?" she interrupted unexpectedly.

The mouse Pokémon stared at her, the redness in his face darkening. The ketchup bottle he was holding slipped out of his paws and dropped to the flower-filled ground with a soft thud.

Though he was silent, the look of utter shock said everything. Obviously, he was not expecting _that._

"You really want to kiss…?" he inquired, too stunned to stutter or even to be embarrassed about what was just said.

Still hugging him, Buneary squirmed a little. She gulped, and nodded slowly.

"I-I do," she squeaked. Her bashfulness was returning, but she stayed resolute. "B-because...I-I l-love you." Her lips were inches away from his. She could feel the mouse's warm breath on her face, and if not for the tension in the air, she would have really enjoyed the feeling.

Anxious, Buneary waited for what seemed like an eternity.

Finally, Pikachu spoke.

"I...never knew that you had feelings for me," he mumbled, and then fell silent.

Unable to cover her face with her fluff, and too embarrassed to say anything, she just nodded slightly. _Arceus, please, please have him return my feelings..._ she begged.

"I don't know how I feel for you," he started slowly, as if he were carefully deciding what to say, and how to say it. "Sometimes when you hugged me, or nuzzled me, I would feel awkward...but happy. And I would have this...fluttery feeling whenever you praised me. It was weird, but I kinda liked it."

Buneary blinked once, then twice, realizing something. _This is exactly how I feel for him,_ she thought. _So maybe he does love me, but doesn't know it._

Having finished, Pikachu pulled away from her. Without another word, he turned to leave.

"How about we meet at Lake Verity tonight? That'll give you plenty of time to think things over," Buneary proposed.

Pikachu looked back and nodded. Still absorbed in his own thoughts, he departed.

Buneary sat down among the flowers, deep in thought herself. _Tonight's going to change everything. I just hope I don't screw up._

After a few moments, she stood up and waded through the flowers. She felt her foot bump against something. _What could that be? _She stooped to pick the object up.

It was the ketchup bottle.

* * *

**Words:** 1,066

**Published: **Dec. 5, 2019


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